Denmark Trap Team takes first place in Fall Conference 3

Every time the Denmark Trap Team competes, it literally and figuratively has a bull’s-eye on its back.  That’s because the squad is so used to winning conference championships, and all the other teams are shooting to beat them. 

Denmark captured another title in the fall season as four individuals placed in the top 12 in the conference standings to lead the way.  Denmark coach Mickey Fels was pleased her team took care of business. 

“It’s actually kind of a normal thing for us. It’s not surprising for Denmark,” Fels said. “We started back in 2016, I think it is, and we started a fall league in 2017, and we’ve taken every conference (title) except for one. I think it was the 2021 one we didn’t take.” 

Denmark, which had 14 members on this season’s fall squad, has become one of the top trap teams in the state.  Senior Nick Langhoff won his first individual conference title by shooting an average of 23.8 per 25-clay pigeon rounds. Each person shoots two rounds—so 50 total shells—during a competition.

“It honestly felt amazing because I never got a conference title, and it’s awesome because this is my last year shooting for the Denmark Trap Team,” Langhoff said about winning the conference title. “It’s a great way to end the fall season.”

Langhoff points to his focus in competitions and shooting with his younger brother, Zach, as the reasons why he had such a successful run during the fall.  Zach Langhoff, a sophomore, tied for seventh place in conference by hitting 22.7 pigeons in an average round. 

“If we’re shooting with each other we’re not as nervous,” Zach Langhoff said. “If we were on line and one of us messes up, then we know we can just tell each other, ‘Oh, it’s alright. Just move on.’” 

The brothers—who both competed at nationals last spring—are their own biggest supporters. However, that doesn’t come without sibling rivalry.  When asked what it was like to see his brother win the conference title, Zach Langhoff joked, “I’ve got to do better than him.”

Seeing his brother excel pushes Zach, who fired a perfect 50 round in a competition this season. Zach believes he’s at about where Nick was as a shooter at the same point in his high school career. 

In the final conference event of the fall season, Denmark got great rounds from the Langhoff brothers, both scoring 49.  Missing just one pigeon in his round assured Nick Langhoff of the conference title. 

“Nick’s been in first place the whole season long,” Fels said. “He wanted to make sure he won it. But he was so close to his second-place team member that he wanted to make sure, so he ended up pulling out a 49. He was excited.” 

Nick Langhoff came into the year ready to be the top shooter on the Denmark team and capture a conference title. He is an intense competitor. 

“Out of all of the members on our team, Nick is probably the one that is harshest on himself,” Fels said. “If he doesn’t go out and shoot a 25, he’s upset.” 

Sophomore Spencer Phelps had a solid fall season, tying for fourth place with a 23.1 average. 

“When he was an eighth-grader, he actually was the top on the team, he beat everybody,” Fels said. “That 23 average is pretty much what he usually runs with ever since he was in seventh grade. He came out just shooting. Some kids just come up to the line and shoot, and it’s like a gift. They don’t really need any training or anything. Spencer is one of those guys.” 

Also in the final conference standings, Denmark sophomore Nathan Chervenka came in 12th (21.8) and his brother, Austin, a junior, finished 17th (21.3). Caden Kersten came in just ahead of his teammate in 17th place (21.3). 

Coach Fels is looking to the future knowing she will have Zach Langhoff, Phelps, Nathan Chervenka and Kersten for two more years and Austin Chervenka for one more year after the spring season. 

Senior Morgan Brice was the lone female on the team in the fall season. Come spring session, she should be joined by other girls who want to compete. 

Why program has become so good

There are many reasons why the Denmark Trap Team has become so successful as a program. 

“I think it’s just the kids themselves,” Fels said. “We actually have six coaches that help and just the camaraderie between the coaches and the kids on the team. We have two rules: our first rule is safety and the second one is to have fun. We try to make it more of a fun thing instead of a competition. But then we also do a little bit of side competitions as well.” 

Nick Langhoff believes the program’s success is largely due to the coaches and their dedication to making the young shooters flourish. 

“When I started shooting, I wasn’t the greatest,” Nick Langhoff said. “But when I joined the trap team in middle school, we had coaches teach us new things and as we kept going throughout the years, we learned so much and got so much better.” 

For Zach Langhoff, it’s the supportive culture in the program that helps it rise to the top. 

“I think the main thing that really makes our team really strong is that we basically see ourselves as family,” Zach Langhoff said. “You can’t really see someone’s failure, all you see is really their success.”

Added Nick Langhoff: “Throughout fall league you talk to your friends about how you’re doing and what you could do better. It’s just great teamwork that we have with our group.”

Fels likes the fact that her team is constructed of kids with so many different backgrounds.

“You get kids that are farm kids, you get kids that are city kids that normally don’t hang around with each other during school,” Fels said. “But then when they come together on the trap team, everybody is basically treated equal and they all get along together. There are some kids that are shy and quiet and don’t know how to make friends. But when they get on the trap team they make friends, they get along really well.” 

It can be difficult on high school kids to have so much weight on their shoulders of being so successful and perennially winning conference titles. But the Denmark shooters seem to thrive in that position.

“I think that’s why we have such a big team when it comes to spring league and stuff is because everybody competes,” Fels said. “Unfortunately, for fall league we have to compete with football, because we have a big football team, too, so that’s why we don’t get a lot of our shooters in for fall. I think that’s why we have such a big turnout for our team is because of the fact that everybody knows that we win.” 

Looking forward to spring season

When the spring season rolls around, Fels is anticipating around 40 members will be on the trap team. Over one-quarter of those shooters will be seniors.  Everyone associated with the Denmark squad is excited for the prospects of the season ahead. 

“That starts the middle of March already and we’re already talking about stuff and getting everything ready,” Fels said. “The kids that shoot in the fall are usually the ones that are the top shooters or at least are the ones that want to keep shooting.”

Unlike the fall season, in the spring, state championships are up for grabs.  Denmark has won two state titles—back-to-back in 2018 and 2019—and one runner-up finish. Last season, Denmark placed third at state as Luxemburg-Casco took home the championship.  Fels believes winning state this season is an attainable goal for her shooters.

“We only missed first by one clay, it was actually a second-place tie,” Fels said. “The second-place team took us—what they do is take the top five scores for all the team members that are going—we sent 25 team members this year. What they ended having to do is taking the sixth-place person and they beat us then.” 

Getting so close to winning a state title last season just motivates the Denmark coach and team members one year later. 

“Now that we’ve gotten third place and only missed first by one, everybody’s kind of excited,” Fels said. “Now we’re thinking that we’ve got a pretty good chance this year.”